Sharpening Stone Width

[Dustin Keys]

I was planning to use sandpaper on glass to sharpen with until I could afford real stones, but I was recently given some money that I intend to use to purchase stones. I had decided on a DMT Diamond Stone for rough work, and the Spyderco Medium and Ultra Fine stones for the rest. I came upon this choice largely because George Wilson uses it, and the approach makes sense to me and the way I like to work. In looking over pricing this week, I discovered that there are different widths available in the bench stones.

Every penny counts right now, so I'm not interested in paying more for stuff I don't really need. The stones I was looking at purchasing were 2", but I also saw that there were 3" versions available as well. What width of stone do I need? At the moment, they'll be used for my chisels and some Stanley planes I'll be refurbishing (currently a #4 and a #5).

Thanks,
D

[Ted Martens]

Dustin,

The stone choices kind of depend on what you're going to sharpen. A #5 uses a 2" wide blade, so you're going to have to keep it pretty centered on the stone. If you get bit hard, you'll eventually end up with a #7 or #8, those are 2-3/8" wide, so you'll be hanging off the sides.
I wouldn't be afraid to spend a little extra on the 3" stones, they're really an investment. Properly stored and cared for, they will last a very long time.

Best of luck whichever way you go -
Ted

[Chris Griggs]

If you use a jig you really should get a 3" stone, no question. If you freehand 2" is fine and dandy. Since free handing allows you to turn the blade sideways to the stone you can sharpen blades much wider then the stone itself.

[Dustin Keys]

If you use a jig you really should get a 3" stone, no question. If you freehand 2" is fine and dandy. Since free handing allows you to turn the blade sideways to the stone you can sharpen blades much wider then the stone itself.

Ah, that is what I needed to know. I am going to learn to sharpen freehand, so I probably don't need the extra width. As I've been browsing around some more, I've noticed that most of the stones I see people using are 2". They seem to be producing fine work for those folks, so they should work for me too once I've learned to use them properly.

D

[Chris Griggs]

Ah, that is what I needed to know. I am going to learn to sharpen freehand, so I probably don't need the extra width. As I've been browsing around some more, I've noticed that most of the stones I see people using are 2". They seem to be producing fine work for those folks, so they should work for me too once I've learned to use them properly.

D

That's the nice thing about freehanding is that it frees you up in multiple respects. It takes a bit of time to get the hang of it, but not as much time as one might expect. It's one of those things that the more you do it the more consistent you get. I would still advise keeping a little inexpensive (~$10-$15) eclipse (side clamping) honing guide around since it will:

A) be nice to have for those times when for whatever reason your free handing isn't working (this happens sometimes even once your pretty comfortable with it)

B) help teach what sharp is so you have a frame of reference and a goal to shoot for (in terms of edge) as you develop your freehanding technique

Anyway, yeah if yor going to freehand I have no qualms about advising 2" stone. My water stones (and the majority) are 2.5-3" wide but my oilstones are only 8" x 2" and I sharpen 2 3/8 and 2 5/8 blades on them without issue.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

I use jigs and freehand and all my stones (water/oil) are 3"W x 8"L. I had 2" x 6" oilstones that I gave away because they were too narrow. I then bought the 3" x "8. The extra width and length do help.

[Craig Coney]

I started out with 2" wide stones, then upgraded to 3" wide stones when my plane collection grew.

[Jay Maiers]

I started out with 2" wide stones, then upgraded to 3" wide stones when my plane collection grew.

x2.
My original King stones (bought for sharpening chisels) are sitting in a box, all alone in the dark recesses of my tool cabinet. My newer, wider stones sit on my bench, ready for use.
I use a jig most of the time, but even when I used to freehand I prefered pulling it along a long stone instead of taking short strokes across the stone or trying to do figure-8 passes.

[John A Walker]

If you don't mind the expense of keeping a stock of varying grades of 'wet'n dry' abrasive sheets, you don't really need a stone, to keep your blades and chisels sharp.
Using the 'scary-sharp', sandpaper and float-glass method, all you need worry about is having enough paper to hand, and a sound method for re-grinding whenever it becomes necessary, as it will from time to time. No worries about re-flattening a stone every so often either.

If you use stones, then keep a special stone aside for chisels, so the one you use for plane irons is always going to be as flat as possible, between 'flattening sessions'.

I hope you see what I am getting at. In short, choose your favourite method and until something really superior comes along, stick with it. E.g, I always used oil-stones because everyone else did at the time. When water-stones became available, I tried them and I never switched back. Width? Wide enough to cope with the widest plane irons I have. Like most of us, those are the four and five/half widths!

HTH
Johnboy . :)

[Bill Haumann]

The coarser the grit, the more I would want the wider stone. I'm much more likely to use a jig to grind a new bevel or help square a cutting edge on my coarse stones, but once that work is done I'll free hand that same iron/chisel on the finer grits.

[Jim Koepke]

Another vote for the wider stones.

You will not regret having wider stones 5 years from now. Having narrow stones may cause regrets. Buy bigger now and you won't be left wanting bigger later.

Almost all of my blades are done free hand. I did make a guide to hold my blades. Like Chris said, sometimes your best freehand efforts just aren't doing the job. It will also come in handy if a blade needs a lot of work on a coarse abrasive to remove a chip or change the bevel.

jtk

[Chris Griggs]

I'll add to my previous post that I agree with others - if you can afford the wider stones they are definitely of benefit. It looks like on amazon the 3" ultra fine is $30 more then the 2". Honestly, that is $30 well spent. Do you need the wider stones? I maintain that you do not. However, if you can dig the extra cash I think you will be glad to have the wider ones, especially if your just learning to sharpen.

[Steve Branam]

Another vote for the wider stones.

You will not regret having wider stones 5 years from now. Having narrow stones may cause regrets. Buy bigger now and you won't be left wanting bigger later.


My thoughts exactly, make the extra investment now for the larger stones and you won't regret it later. I have India stones, water stones, and DMT Duo-Sharps (my sharpening is schizophrenic) and I got the larger ones in each.

[Sam Takeuchi]

Regardless of learning to free hand or not, I think if you had the option to go with 3" wide stone, that'd be a better option. Yes, by going on 'need' basis, you can get by with 2" wide stone, but if you are not yet proficient at free hand sharpening, it could cause quite a bit of inconvenience to achieve straight and even edge. Of course no one is saying it can't be done and I'm sure plenty of people do it fine, but at this point with your experience, I 'think' it would be a better choice to go with wider stone.

If you decide to go with 2" stone, you should invest some time to find out what style would suits you. Some people hold the blade askew, some even go with side sharpening. Ideally the entire edge of a blade touches the stone while being sharpened or honed. Of course it's not a hard and fast rule, but you can kind of understand why. I think 3" stone is practical in a long run. I don't know what you have now, but it makes sharpening a lot easier to have a 3" wide stone when you have 2-3/8" blades or even worse, scraper plane blades. If I were you, I'd stick to scary sharp until I can afford a 3" wide stone, because if I get a 2" stone now, I know eventually I'd want to a 3" stone to accommodate wider blades.